Cowboys Camp Day 10: Vela v. Real Journalists.

[ZeroClub]

So, what's it say when the local professional media is widely considered not as good as a freelance blogger, then? Fair game to bash the paid journalists?

Or is Vela so good that it's reasonable for him to be considered by general board consensus to be significantly better than the professionals despite the fact that he can't compete with them in terms of resources and access to the team?

I agree that Breer was really good, too. I don't think it's that quality journalists don't exist for local markets and can't be found. My take is that Dallas is just really, really thin on quality journalists. When you put Vela's camp observations side by side with what else is out there, I think it's pretty hard to argue convincingly otherwise.

The frenzied competition for readership and radio ads hurts the quality of local journalism. Given the realities of the commercial market, it is understandable that most local media folk are more concerned with marketing themselves as personalities than (merely) reporting what is happening with the team. Vela is freer to focus on what interests hard core fans.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Yep, thats exactly what I want.

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[Chief]

So, what's it say when the local professional media is widely considered not as good as a freelance blogger, then? Fair game to bash the paid journalists?

Or is Vela so good that it's reasonable for him to be considered by general board consensus to be significantly better than the professionals despite the fact that he can't compete with them in terms of resources and access to the team?

I agree that Breer was really good, too. I don't think it's that quality journalists don't exist for local markets and can't be found. My take is that Dallas is just really, really thin on quality journalists. When you put Vela's camp observations side by side with what else is out there, I think it's pretty hard to argue convincingly otherwise.

I agree with you.

I think the problem is there are too few true sports "reporters" anymore. These people would rather be an entertainer than a reporter. They want to be funny. They want to incite rage. They want to be clever.

They want to be columnists, but they don't have the talent. Jim Murray, they're not.

Good, solid news reports on games or camp practices are becoming more and more rare. So are good feature stories.

Instead we get 50-word blog entries with names wrong and poor attempts at being clever.

It might be this way at other places, but it's certainly noticeable with the people "covering" the Cowboys. I'm mainly talking about the ones from the DMN.

 

[EGTuna]

Breer would give him a good run for his money. I really liked that guy and the way he presented his perspective

IMO, Breer is more like KC Joyner or Aaron Shatz of Football Outsiders insofar as being stat-intensive, and using data to come to conclusions. Vela uses stats when necessary, but doesn't obsess over them. He explains the intricacies of formations and schemes, and then details why certain schemes and tactics are implemented. I've learned more reading Vela than any other reported, columnist or blogger.

 

[AbeBeta]

But he's not good because he's an optimist. He's good because he's thorough and knows what he's talking about. It's just been easy to be optimistic about this team the last 3-4 years because it's basically a very good team.

I didn't say he was good b/c he was an optimist. My point was that he kinda sucks b/c he is such an optimist - I go way back with the guy and have heard him wax lovingly over guys like Peppi Zellner and Wane McGarity - in depth reports of how great they were... over and over with that sort of stuff.

 

[theogt]

I didn't say he was good b/c he was an optimist. My point was that he kinda sucks b/c he is such an optimist - I go way back with the guy and have heard him wax lovingly over guys like Peppi Zellner and Wane McGarity - in depth reports of how great they were... over and over with that sort of stuff.

Perhaps over a decade ago he really did just "suck" as an analyst/reporter. I haven't seen him gush about anyone in the past 4-5 years that's been wildly irrational. And that time span is what most people tend to know him and judge him by. I'm sure we all held beliefs 10-15 years ago that we'd be embarrassed to hold now.

 

[LandryFan]

i just want writers to write what they know and see......and quite using every situation to drive their agendas...like Tim Mcmahon and his "Coachable WR" bit.....he goes out of his way in every article to mention RW just so he can use his lameness.....

Writers like McMahon (and the vast majority of all other Dallas mediots) ARE writing what they know...They DON"T know football, so they resort to writing editorialized pieces that bash and drag down, with no specific facts to back their claims. Plain and simple, those hacks don't know squat about football, so they can't write about football. Vela and Breer embarrass the hell out of every one of them!

 

[Everlastingxxx]

Never been a big fan of his stuff. Too many words. I am a simple minded person, i don’t need all the fancy words. I never understand the dislike for Timmy and other bloggers. They provide a service that many find useful, hence why their blogs are always made into a thread.

 

[Idgit]

Never been a big fan of his stuff. Too many words. I am a simple minded person, i don’t need all the fancy words. I never understand the dislike for Timmy and other bloggers. They provide a service that many find useful, hence why their blogs are always made into a thread.

It's not personal dislike. The point is, they're paid to do the job they do, and yet don't do it as well as amateurs and hobbyists. We should expect more of them, and perhaps they'll either get better at their jobs, or they'll get replaced by other professionals who can perform at a high level.

And I'm not sure the reason their blog entries are made into threads is because they are useful. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's another reason entirely: their entries are sensational. Sensationalism encourages simple-minded people to debate issues which aren't necessarily very relevant to how the season is likely to go, but which are on topics that are pretty much guaranteed to cause a lot of debate. Hence, there are multiple posts about the WR position minus TO, or is the QB distracted in the offseason. It's not until training camp starts and the players and coaches start talking about real issues that we get back to talking about problems like our execution on special teams and our OL depth.

This is fine, if what you're looking for is someone to bait you into an inconsequential debate, but it's a long way from information or informed opinion.

 

[Idgit]

I didn't say he was good b/c he was an optimist. My point was that he kinda sucks b/c he is such an optimist - I go way back with the guy and have heard him wax lovingly over guys like Peppi Zellner and Wane McGarity - in depth reports of how great they were... over and over with that sort of stuff.

Well, to the extent his optimism colors his perspective, his analysis is compromised.

From my experience, Vela's a big fan, but that manifests itself primarily in him waxing positive about the most positive areas of the team. I don't recall him going on about Zellner and McGarity. I know he's been critical of our short yardage run game from last year, and that he's questioned our OL depth on more than one occasion. He may be an optimist, but he's not blind to the warts on the team.

 

[AbeBeta]

Perhaps over a decade ago he really did just "suck" as an analyst/reporter. I haven't seen him gush about anyone in the past 4-5 years that's been wildly irrational. And that time span is what most people tend to know him and judge him by. I'm sure we all held beliefs 10-15 years ago that we'd be embarrassed to hold now.

sure -- but knowing his tendencies I see lots of optimism in his work that doesn't pan out - I do find him a good read but you gotta take it with several grains of salt b/c he is primarily a fan who wants things to turn out a certain way -- and that does color his approach

 

[burmafrd]

I really doubt anyone here would like to see some comments they originally made a few years ago about some of the players. I would think that over time you get better at seeing real talent and separating it from the camp stars. Talking about players of 6-7 years ago has very little to do with now.

 

[AbeBeta]

I really doubt anyone here would like to see some comments they originally made a few years ago about some of the players. I would think that over time you get better at seeing real talent and separating it from the camp stars. Talking about players of 6-7 years ago has very little to do with now.

sure, but we are here as fans - we aren't trying to be something more than that.

 

[LandryFan]

It's not personal dislike. The point is, they're paid to do the job they do, and yet don't do it as well as amateurs and hobbyists. We should expect more of them, and perhaps they'll either get better at their jobs, or they'll get replaced by other professionals who can perform at a high level.

And I'm not sure the reason their blog entries are made into threads is because they are useful. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's another reason entirely: their entries are sensational. Sensationalism encourages simple-minded people to debate issues which aren't necessarily very relevant to how the season is likely to go, but which are on topics that are pretty much guaranteed to cause a lot of debate. Hence, there are multiple posts about the WR position minus TO, or is the QB distracted in the offseason. It's not until training camp starts and the players and coaches start talking about real issues that we get back to talking about problems like our execution on special teams and our OL depth.

This is fine, if what you're looking for is someone to bait you into an inconsequential debate, but it's a long way from information or informed opinion.

Idgit, I agree that my distaste for the Dallas media that cover the Cowboys is not personal, I know none of them personally. My distate and criticism of them comes from them seriously lacking in knowledge in the area they get paid to report on. Simply put, the vast majority of them give the distinct impression that they know very little to nothing about the X's and O's of football, hence they cover their ignorance by blowing smoke in their fluff "articles". Hey, be a homer, or be a hard *** on the Cowboys all you want. As a paid professional, just know the game well enough to back your opinion rather than merely bashing and basing your "opinion" on mindless drivel.

 

[dcfanatic]

Bryan Broaddus was talking about that 3-5-3 near the goal line and how much trouble it could cause teams who hadn't seen it. He also said he'd barely seen the same blitz twice in a few days of watching practice.

Like Vela says here, you want pressure and press man coverage? You got it.

Here’s former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus on Gallowayand Company from earlier today talking about how Wade’s doing different things with the defense down in Training Camp…

Broaddus on GAC

This is going to be the year we see Wade Phillips Cowboys defense become a dominant unit.

I really feel that way. From head to toe I feel it.

All of the pieces are in place. The secondary is young and athletic. They have smart players at both MLB spots and at FS. This is necessary if you want a great defense.

They are hungry. Spencer, Spears, Scandrick, Carpenter, Sensabaugh, Jenkins, Newman and Olshansky are all out to prove something.
Ware and Ratliff are just unstoppable forces.

Bring on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!

 

[dcfanatic]

i like Vela's work. but i've been with him since the beginning... 1998 or so on old listservs. He's a stone cold optomist. He's mr. Sunshine and hope every year. He just isn't objective. He paints far too rosy a picture day in and day out. He is a good read and he is obsessive, but once he's on a guy he is carrying that kid's jock for years

I think he's more on the fence about everything.

And we all fall in love with some players and can't seem to admit it whe they aren't who we thought they were.

 

[AbeBeta]

And we all fall in love with some players and can't seem to admit it whe they aren't who we thought they were.

Fans do.

Journalists shouldn't.

 

[Idgit]

Fans do.

Journalists shouldn't.

For about 4 years there, JJT could tell you what Gregg Ellis had for lunch the day before he spent so much time up his ***.

 

[dcfanatic]

So, what's it say when the local professional media is widely considered not as good as a freelance blogger, then? Fair game to bash the paid journalists?

Or is Vela so good that it's reasonable for him to be considered by general board consensus to be significantly better than the professionals despite the fact that he can't compete with them in terms of resources and access to the team?

I agree that Breer was really good, too. I don't think it's that quality journalists don't exist for local markets and can't be found. My take is that Dallas is just really, really thin on quality journalists. When you put Vela's camp observations side by side with what else is out there, I think it's pretty hard to argue convincingly otherwise.

The team was a circus last season. What did you want the writers to ignore all of it and just stick to the 'football' stuff?

Jerry didn't want that. He and this fan base loved all that coverage when the team was winning. But when that circus resulted in the team losing then the writers all turned into bad guys.

I don't think you are ok with the way the world of 'journalism' is changing.

Maybe that word is oudated.

In today's world people can listen or watch for news and opinion pieces about their favorite teams. The long drawn out articles are a thing of the past. And injecting some personality into the articles and blogs is accepted and encouraged because it differentiates the work from the other 12 pieces saying the same thing which come from various other sources.

In the Dallas market alone their are three regulars. DMN, Star and even the Express is in with them.

Time moves on and if they don't adjust they are out of business.

 

[Idgit]

The team was a circus last season. What did you want the writers to ignore all of it and just stick to the 'football' stuff?

Jerry didn't want that. He and this fan base loved all that coverage when the team was winning. But when that circus resulted in the team losing then the writers all turned into bad guys.

I don't think you are ok with the way the world of 'journalism' is changing.

Maybe that word is oudated.

In today's world people can listen or watch for news and opinion pieces about their favorite teams. The long drawn out articles are a thing of the past. And injecting some personality into the articles and blogs is accepted and encouraged because it differentiates the work from the other 12 pieces saying the same thing which come from various other sources.

In the Dallas market alone their are three regulars. DMN, Star and even the Express is in with them.

Time moves on and if they don't adjust they are out of business.

I'm not ok with the way the world of journalism is changing, that's true. But that's not really the point. Last year was a circus, and that fact was a legitimate point for criticism or coverage. That doesn't mean it was the only thing worth covering. And it doesn't absolve paid journalists (ie, the professionals) from their responsibility to cover the right stories and to cover them accurately and professionally.

During the regular season, though, there's enough meat and enough people on the record that the quality of the coverage goes up generally. It's the scarcity of the offseason that let's you know who's all-hat, and who's actually got some cattle. Either way, it's pretty damning when hobbyists, no matter how dedicated, are more knowledgeable and do a better job generally covering the team you're paid to cover.

Again, this has nothing to do with the slant of the stories. I understand that hobbyists generally are going to slant positively. It's a matter of understanding and ability, not outlook.